Elsie Fisher delivers a heartbreakingly vulnerable performance as an awkward, introverted teenage girl enduring the final week of “Eighth Grade” (2018, R). The directorial debut comedian Bo Burham is an insightful and sensitive comic drama that explores the anxieties of growing up in the social media age with humor and hope. Be warned that it’s R-rated. Now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

Robert Redford brings his easy charm to the role of a gentleman, octogenarian bank robber who lives for the thrill of the deed in “The Old Man & the Gun” (2018, PG-13), a strangely sweet and affectionate low key drama co-starring Sissy Spacek and Casey Affleck. Redford said it’s his farewell screen performance. On VOD and Cable On Demand, also on DVD and at Redbox.

Streaming TV: Netflix presents new seasons of “Grace and Frankie” with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin and “The Punisher” with Jon Bernthal and Amazon Prime premieres the third season of the gearhead series “The Grand Tour.”

True stories: remember Fyre Festival, the infamous music festival fiasco in the Bahamas that stranded ticket buyers and launched a thousand lawsuits? Two new original documentaries are here to remind you: Netflix presents “Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened” (2019, not rated) and Hulu offers “Fyre Fraud” (2019, not rated).

Pay-Per-View / Video on Demand

David Gordon Green’s “Halloween” (2018, R) is not a remake but a sequel to the original 1978 horror classic with Jamie Lee Curtis reprising her role as Laurie Strode, now a paranoid survivalist who is ready for the return of Michael after 40 years. John Carpenter, director of the original, is one of the producers and composes the score. Also on DVD and at Redbox.

Available same day as select theaters nationwide is “The Standoff at Sparrow Creek” (2019, not rated), a crime thriller set in the culture of militia groups, and political thriller “An Acceptable Loss” (2019, R) with Tika Sumpter and Jamie Lee Curtis.

Noomi Rapace is a counter-terrorist expert hired to protect a young heiress (Sophie Nélisse) in the crime thriller “Close” (2019, not rated). It’s one of five Netflix Original features debuting this week. Also new:

This colorful new indie take on Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” (2018, not rated) is relocated to modern Hollywood and stars Rachael Leigh Cook, Finn Wittrock, Paz de la Huerta, and Lily Rabe.

A selection of HBO Original films from years past are new available, including “Grey Gardens” (2009, TV-14) HBO with Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange as Little Edie and Big Edie, “You Don’t Know Jack” (2010, not rated) with Al Pacino as Dr. Jack Kevorkian; and “Cinema Verite” (2011, not rated) with James Gandolfini and Diane Lane.

Alden Ehrenreich is a young Han Solo in “Solo: A Star Wars Story” (2018, PG-13), a prequel from a galaxy far, far away. As much galactic heist adventure as space opera, it co-stars Woody Harrelson, Thandie Newton, and Donald Glover as young Lando Calrissian, and it shows how Han met Chewbacca and won his pride and joy: The Millennium Falcon.Now streaming on Netflix.

Liam Neeson once again uses his particular set of skills in “The Commuter” (2018, PG-13), a conspiracy thriller set on a runaway train. It’s the unlikely action star’s fourth film with director Jaume Collet-Serra (“Non-Stop”). Prime Video and Hulu.

The Netflix Original comedy “Sex Education: Season 1” stars Asa Butterfield as a socially awkward teen who becomes his high school’s underground sex-ed counselor, thanks to expertise provided by his sex therapist mother (Gillian Anderson) and a business plan by an enterprising student (Emma Mackey). Eight episodes now on Netflix.

Classic pick: James Dean became a star playing the anxious, inarticulate black sheep son competing with his brother for his father’s love in “East of Eden” (1955, not rated), Elia Kazan’s dynamic adaptation of John Steinbeck’s novel. On Netflix.

Pay-Per-View / Video on Demand

Actor/writer Jonah Hill makes his directorial debut with “Mid90s” (2018, R), a semi-autobiographical comedy-drama young teens in the skateboarding culture of the 1990s.

Also new are the family-centered dramas “Wildlife” (2018, PG-13) with Jake Gyllenhaal and Carey Mulligan and “What They Had” (2018, R) with Hilary Swank and Michael Shannon and comedy “The Oath” (2018, R) with Ike Barinholtz and Tiffany Haddish.

Available same day as select theaters nationwide is “The Aspern Papers” (2019, R), based on the Henry James novella and starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Vanessa Redgrave, and Joely Richardson.

Netflix

“The Last Laugh” (2019, not rated) is a Netflix original starring with Chevy Chase as a retired talent agent who escapes from his retirement with his very first client (Richard Dreyfuss) for a geriatric comedy tour. Andie MacDowell and Kate Micucci co-star.

Olga Kurylenko confronts ancient demons in “Mara” (2018, not rated) and Zoe Kazan is a mother protecting her daughter from “The Monster” (2016, not rated) in two new horror additions.

Jessica Chastain stars as Molly Bloom, the Olympic-class skier who ran the world’s most exclusive high-stakes poker game, inMolly’s Game (2017, R). Oscar-winning screenwriter Aaron Sorkin made his directorial debut with this drama based on Bloom’s memoir.

Start 2019 with some of the best films of last year. “Leave No Trace” (2018, PG), inspired by a true story and shot in and around Portland, Oregon, is a touching indie drama starring Ben Foster as a troubled military vet and loving single father trying to raise a daughter (Thomasin McKenzie in a revelatory performance) off the grid. It’s won numerous awards and is a favorite going into Oscar season. Now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

Regina Hall earned a Film Independent Spirit Award nomination for her performance as a protective manager in “Support the Girls” (2018), a smart indie comedy about the women working in a Hooters-like sports bar. On Hulu.

Netflix released “Black Mirror: Bandersnatch” (2018, not rated), a feature-length episode of the dark science fiction series presented as a video game-like interactive experience, without advance notice last week. There are dozens of choices and multiple endings but, due to technical requirements, it is not available on all devices (notably Apple TV and Google Chromecast).

Classic pick: Marilyn Monroe is the bubbly gold digger dance partner to wry, man-hungry Jane Russell in “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” (1953), Howard Hawks’ twist on buddy film machismo. It’s a delightful, hilarious farce with great musical numbers, but for all the sexual humor, these two little girls from Little Rock are thoroughly loyal to each other and always in charge. On Hulu.

Pay-Per-View / Video on Demand

Jeff Bridges, Cynthia Erivo, Jon Hamm, and Chris Hemsworth hit “Bad Times at the El Royale” (2018, R) in the thriller set at a run-down Lake Tahoe hotel.

Neil Patrick Harris is back as Count Olaf in the third and final season of “A Series of Unfortunate Events,” based on the playfully macabre children’s books by Lemony Snicket (aka Daniel Handler).

King Arthur and a band of dotty knights run afoul of abusive Frenchmen, sex-crazed nuns, a killer rabbit, the mysterious Knights Who Say “Nih!,” and other medieval threats in “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” (1975, PG), the cheapest Arthurian adventure ever made and easily the funniest.

“Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers” (1912-1923) presents a collection of 17 shorts and features from women filmmakers in the silent era. Among the landmarks are Lois Weber’s innovative short thriller “Suspense” (1913) and birth control drama “Where Are My Children” (1916);

Terry Gilliam’s “Brazil” (1985, R), a dark, dense science fiction fantasy, is like “1984” rewritten by Monty Python, an absurdist nightmare of Kafka-esque dimensions. In other words, as timely as ever.

Johnny Depp is the voice of “Sherlock Gnomes” (2018, PG) in the animated comedy set in the world of living garden gnomes (Prime Video and Hulu).

Hulu

Roman Polanski’s “Chinatown” (1974, R), starring Jack Nicholson as private eye J.J. Gittes and Faye Dunaway as a tragic femme fatale in 1930s Los Angeles, is a neo-noir classic and one of the masterpieces of American cinema.

Foreign affairs: “Renoir” (France, 2013, R, with subtitles) stars Michel Bouquet as the legendary painter Auguste Renoir and “The German Doctor” (Argentina, 2013, not rated, with subtitles) is a drama about Josef Mengele in hiding in Argentina.

Kid stuff: Mike Myers is a grumpy ogre in the animated comedy “Shrek” (2001, PG) with Eddie Murphy and Cameron Diaz. Also new:

escape comedy “Chicken Run” (2000, G) from the creators of “Wallace and Gromit”;

Available Saturday is “Annihilation” (2018, R) with Natalie Portman as a Special Forces soldier who joins a team of women scientists to investigate an alien force field slowly growing on Earth. This science fiction thriller from “Ex Machina” filmmaker Alex Garland favors science and mystery over action.

HBO Now

Melissa McCarthy is a divorced mother who goes back to college in the comedy “Life of the Party” (2018, PG-13).

Gerard Butler and 50 Cent star in the heist thriller “Den of Thieves” (2018, R), now on Showtime.

The French drama “Chefs: Season 1” (France, with subtitles) follows an ex-con who finds a new life working in the kitchen of a gourmet restaurant in Paris. Now on MHz, with the second season arriving later in January.

Sofia Vergara presents “365 Days of Love,” a new series about real-life love stories with a new episode premiering on Facebook Watch every day of 2019.

New on disc this week:

“Bad Times at the El Royale,” “Night School,” “A.X.L,” “Trouble”

Now available at Redbox:

“A.X.L,” True Detective: Season 1,” “True Detective: Season 2”

Visit the paper’s website online for more options and recommendations.

Eighteen years ago, a man named Mark Hogencamp was brutally beaten by five men outside of a bar in Kingston, N.Y. The assault put him in a coma for over a week and left him with permanent brain damage and little memory of his previous life. To cope, he constructed an elaborate miniature World War II-era Belgian town where he would create fantasy sequences with dolls representing himself, his friends and even his assailants, and photographed them. He called the town Marwencol and the eccentric and fascinating scene caught the attention of the art world, the media and eventually became the subject of an acclaimed 2010 documentary.

Why Hollywood and an always innovative filmmaker like Robert Zemeckis would be drawn to this inherently dramatic, emotional and fantastical story is hardly a mystery. The head-scratcher is how it ended up as such a disaster. Yes, “Welcome to Marwen,” despite what I believe were the best of intentions, is cloying, jaw-droppingly sexist and oddly lifeless. It’s not that it’s a poorly-directed movie. It’s just stunningly ill-conceived.

Steve Carell plays Mark, and his WWII action-figure alter-ego Hoagie, who we meet first. Hoagie is handsome, assured and unflappable in wartime. A plane crash? No problem. Shoes on fire? He’ll just wear a pair of heels instead. A Nazi holding him at gunpoint? He’ll talk to him with no fear. And if he gets in over his head, no worries, a cabal of beautiful, machine-gun-toting and scantily clad women will come to save him. This is his fantasy, so they all love him of course, but he tells them to keep their distance because there’s this blue-haired Belgian witch named Deja Thoris (Diane Krueger, who is probably thankful to be hidden behind the animation) who gets jealous and kills women who get close to him. Seriously.

In the real world, however, Mark is a mess, living in a semi-permanent mobile home, popping pills like candy, and avoiding human interactions wherever he can — especially those that remind him of the assault, which is why he’s doing everything he can to get out of attending the sentencing hearing for his attackers despite his lawyer’s pleas.

His PTSD manifests in his fantasy world. When he feels attacked, suddenly there’s machine gun fire being sprayed throughout the bar in Marwen. It’s also the place where he can always get the girl, if he so chooses. He can also construct whatever kind of girl he wants, whether it’s a young blond milkmaid or a replica of the woman, Nicol (an uncomfortable-looking Leslie Mann), who has just moved into the house across from him.

“Welcome to Marwen,” co-written by Zemeckis and Caroline Thompson (“Edward Scissorhands”) wants to be both childlike and adult in ways that the film is not equipped to examine in any sort of serious way, making the whole thing creepy and discomforting.

Mark fetishizes every woman in his life who is kind to him and puts her in Marwen: His physical therapist (Janelle Monae), his caregiver, Anna (Gwendoline Christie), the woman who works at the toy store where he buys the dolls, Roberta (Merritt Wever), a cook at a local bar, Caralala (Eiza Gonzalez) and, I believe, his favorite adult film star, Suzette, played by the director’s wife, Leslie Zemeckis. It’s one sci-fi twist away from being a full on “Black Mirror” episode, and poor Nicol, who quickly becomes his new obsession, bears the brunt of these unwelcome affections.

The movie tells us he loves the essence of women (and says this is why he likes wearing and collecting high heels). He wishes they could run the world, he says, but it doesn’t sound sincere. You’ll get whiplash trying to reconcile how the movie is consistently trying to tell you it’s feminist while also so blatantly objectifying every woman in sight.

The animation is really something stunning, however. It doesn’t look too digital or too uncanny valley. If only the movie could have been as evolved. Zemeckis, it seems, was trying to recreate a sort of “Forrest Gump” folk tale out of “Marwen,” which simply doesn’t work anymore the way it might have 24 years ago. This is a complex man and artist worthy of a complex story, not a would-be-feel-good farce.

“Watership Down,” a Netflix coproduction with BBC, presents a four-part animated adaptation of the Richard Adams novel about a warren of rabbits fighting to establish a new home. This gritty tale is not for young kids. The star-studded voice cast includes James McAvoy, Gemma Arterton, John Boyega, Peter Capaldi, Nicholas Hoult, Daniel Kaluuya, Rosamund Pike, and Ben Kingsley. Now on Netflix.

“Avengers: Infinity War” (2018, PG-13) is the biggest, most sprawling superhero epic yet, a comic book apocalypse that pits almost every character in the big screen Marvel Comics Universe—Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Black Panther, Spider-Man, the Guardians of the Galaxy, and more—against cosmic supervillain-with-a-god-complex Thanos (Josh Brolin). It ends on a cliffhanger to end all cliffhangers; to be concluded in 2019. Streaming on Netflix.

“Hereditary” (2018, R) spins a family psychodrama of grief and guilt into an eerie horror film with supernatural overtones. Toni Collette and Gabriel Byrne star in the sleeper hit of the summer, a rare thriller that favors mood and unease over shock value. Streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

Classic pick: Audrey Hepburn stars in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” (1961), Blake Edwards’ sparkling adaptation of Truman Capote’s bittersweet novella. Mickey Rooney’s buck-toothed turn as the Japanese landlord is an offensive and indefensible racial stereotype but the film is otherwise a smoothly handsome and quietly elegant romantic drama with playful touches of humor. Streaming on Hulu.

Pay-Per-View / Video on Demand

Matthew McConaughey stars in “White Boy Rick” (2018, R), based on the true story of a teenage drug trafficker turned FBI informant (Richie Merritt). Also on DVD and at Redbox

Coming to VOD before disc is comedy “Night School” (2018, PG-13) with Kevin Hart and Tiffany Haddish and “boy and his robot dog” adventure “A.X.L.” (PG).

Alison Brie, Aubrey Plaza, and Dave Franco star in the hilariously foul-mouthed comedy “The Little Hours” (2017, R), based on the medieval stories of Giovanni Boccaccio and shot in the hills of rural Italy with period detail and a modern accent.

Foreign affairs: “A Twelve-Year Night” (Uruguay, 2018, not rated, with subtitles), an award-winning drama inspired by the true stories of political prisoners surviving solitary confinement, debuts on the U.S. on Netflix. Also new: crime thriller “When Angels Sleep” (Spain, 2018, not rated, with subtitles).

Streaming TV: “The Magicians: Season 3” takes the young adult drama about a more grown-up school for magic into a world where magic no longer exists. Also new:
reality series “Yummy Mummies: Season 1,” about models facing their first pregnancies, and “Instant Hotel: Season 1” from Australia;
family comedy “Alexa & Katie: Season 2”;
award-winning travel series “Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown: Season 11,” the final season;
animated comedy “Hi Score Girl: Season 1” (Japan).

Foreign language TV: “Selection Day: Season 1” (India) is a drama set following a young sports prodigy in the cutthroat world of professional cricket.

Amazon Prime Video

Nathalie Baye stars in the World War I homefront drama “The Guardians” (France, 2017, R, with subtitles) from director Xavier Beauvois (“Of Gods and Men”).

Streaming TV: the adventure continues in the animated “Niko and the Sword of Light: Season 2.”

Prime Video and Hulu

“Iron Man 2” (2010, PG-13) gives the hard-partying millionaire-turned-heavy metal superhero played by Robert Downey Jr. a new villain (Mickey Rourke) and a new ally (Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow). For all of Downey’s bubbly, brash energy, the fizz is a little flat in this sequel but the effects are impressive. Gwyneth Paltrow is his long-suffering girl Friday, Don Cheadle suits up this time as best friend and military babysitter Rhodey, and Samuel L. Jackson is Nick Fury. Prime Video and Hulu.

Hulu

“New Year, New You” (2018, not rated), the fourth feature-length episode of Hulu’s original horror series “Into the Dark,” arrives a week early to premiere before New Year’s Eve.

Wes Anderson’s animated “Isle of Dogs” (2018, PG-13) is a playful fantasy adventure set in a near-future Japan.

Arriving on Saturday night is the back to school comedy “Life of the Party” (2018, PG-13) with Melissa McCarthy.

Showtime Anytime

“Spotlight” (2015, R), the story of the Boston Globe reporters who uncovered the Catholic Church’s cover-up of child molestation by priests, won the Oscar for Best Picture. Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, and Michael Keaton star.

Also new: urban drama “Pimp” (2018, TV-MA) with Keke Palmer and thriller “City Of Ghosts” (2002, R) with Matt Dillon and James Caan.

Other streams

Rowan Atkinson returns as Inspector Jules Maigret in the feature length mysteries “Night at Cross Roads” and “Maigret in Montmartre,” which make their U.S. debut on Britbox.

“Agatha Raisin and the Fairies of Fryfam” the second feature-length mystery starring Ashley Jensen as the urban profession turned amateur sleuth in rural England, is now streaming on Acorn. Also new: “Murdoch Mysteries: Season 12” rolls out with new episodes each Monday.

New on disc this week:
“White Boy Rick,” “American Renegades.”

Now available at Redbox:
“White Boy Rick,” “The Predator,” “Galveston,” “Six: Season 1.”

Sean Axmaker is a Seattle film critic and writer. His reviews of streaming movies and TV can be found at http://streamondemandathome.com.

The one-man show “Springsteen on Broadway” (2018, not rated), featuring Bruce Springsteen sharing personal stories and performing acoustic versions of his music, has been one of the hottest tickets during its brief run. Netflix members can now get a front row seat in this exclusive recording of the intimate, stripped down live show.

Olivia Cooke is Becky Sharp in the mini-series “Vanity Fair” (2018), based on the satirical novel by William Makepeace Thackery about a scheming social climber in 19th century society. It costars Tom Bateman, Anthony Head, Martin Clunes, and Michael Palin as Thackery. The British coproduction is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

Anna Kendrick stars as an overachieving single mom turned detective when her chic new best friend (Blake Lively) disappears in “A Simple Favor” (2018, R), a witty murder mystery with a light touch. On Cable on Demand and VOD, also on DVD and at Redbox.

Sandra Bullock stars in “Bird Box” (2018, not rated), an end-of-the-world thriller on an intimate scale directed by Susanne Bier. The film co-stars Sarah Paulsen and John Malkovich and arrives on Netflix a week after a limited release in theaters.

Eddie Redmayne won the Academy Award for his portrayal of physicist Stephen Hawking in “The Theory of Everything” (2014, PG-13).

“Perfume: Season 1” (Germany, with subtitles) is a new adaptation of Patrick Suskind’s bestselling novel, updated to the present and reworked as a detective series about a murdered singer and a killer who turns human scents into exclusive fragrances. Six episodes.

“Life Itself” (2018, R), a sentimental family melodrama written and directed by “This Is Us” creator Dan Fogelman, was one of the worst reviewed films of the year, despite a superb cast that includes Oscar Isaac, Olivia Wilde, Annette Bening, and Mandy Patinkin.

Instead, try the heart-tugging drama “Any Day Now” (2012, R) with Alan Cumming and Garret Dillahunt as gay men attempting to adopt a neglected special-needs child in 1979.

Streaming TV: the comedy competition show “LOL – Last One Laughing: Season 1” (Mexico, with subtitles) pits comedians against each other. New episodes each Friday. Also new: the second season of the crime drama “4 Blocks” (Germany, with subtitles), set in the Arab community in Berlin.

Classics: Nancy Kwan and James Shigeta star in “Flower Drum Song” (1961), the big screen version of the Roger and Hammerstein musical.

True stories: “Ex Libris: The New York Public Library” (2017, not rated) is documentary filmmaking legend Frederick Wiseman’s in-depth look into the workings of one the biggest public libraries in the world.

Prime Video and Hulu

“A Most Wanted Man” (2014, R), based on the John le Carré novel, is a complex thriller of politics and intelligence in the post-9/11 world. Philip Seymour Hoffman (in his final film role) is superb as the head of a covert German intelligence team that monitors potential terrorist activity, a devoted patriot with a moral code in a culture of self-interest and power politics. Prime Video and Hulu.

Jennifer Aniston and Tim Robbins star in the crime comedy “Life of Crime” (2014, R), based on a novel by Elmore Leonard (Prime Video and Hulu).

Hulu

Robert Pattinson and Mia Wasikoswka star in “Damsel” (2018, R), an offbeat frontier comedy from indie filmmakers David and Nathan Zellner. Streaming on Hulu.

Dysfunctional family comedy “Little Miss Sunshine” (2006, R), with Greg Kinnear, Toni Collette, Steve Carell, and Alan Arkin on a road trip in a finicky VW van, was the underdog indie hit of 2006 and won two Academy Awards.

The indie drama “Skate Kitchen” (2018, R) is set in the skateboarding culture of teenage girls in New York City.

Streaming TV: The complete second season of the Hulu Original superhero series “Marvel’s Runaways,” about a team of teenagers who flee their supervillain parents, is now available. Also new:

“The Killing: Complete Series,” the American version of the dark Scandinavian crime drama, with Mireille Enos and Joel Kinnaman as Seattle cops investigating the murder of a 17-year-old girl;

In the viciously funny “The Death of Stalin” (2018, R), savvy political satirist Armando Iannucci reimagines the scramble for power in the Soviet Union as a savage comedy of petty grudges, unstable alliances, and literal backstabbing. Steve Buscemi is master survivor Nikita Khrushchev and Jeffrey Tambor and Michael Palin co-star.

Helena Bonham Carter and Linus Roache star in the Oscar-nominated drama “The Wings of the Dove” (1998, R), based on the novel by Henry James.

Other streams

The British miniseries “Blood,” a psychological drama starring Adrian Dunbar as a doctor suspected by his daughter of murdering his wife. Six episodes streaming on Acorn TV.

With the holidays coming, in anticipation of time with family and friends, you may be looking for something to do.

You might want to do something indoors to beat the cold weather. And with the long winter break, you might want something that will take a considerable amount of time.

The solution? A movie marathon.

Many of the films are available through various streaming platforms as noted; the rest can be rented through sites like Amazon and Google Play or through area libraries.

Here are some options with varying total lengths of time and not including any bonus films. (The time is the approximate length of watching the movies straight through. Please don’t do that. Take some breaks between films).

Tips: Watch the extended version if you haven’t already, there are many additional scenes cut from the theatrical release that add to the story and smooth over clunky transitions.

Bonus: Also watch “The Hobbit” series, if you feel the need to spend even more time in Middle Earth.

Where to stream: Find “Fellowship of the Ring,” Netflix; “Two Towers” and “Return of the King” on Starz.

Series: Harry Potter

Length: 19 hours, 39 minutes

Bonus: Also include “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” the newest series to spin off from the Potterverse. The latest film, “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald,” is showing in area theaters.

Where to stream: All films except “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” are available on Syfy.

Where to stream: “Thor: Ragnarok,” “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” “Black Panther,” “Doctor Strange” and “Avengers: Infinity War” (available Christmas Day) are on Netflix; “Spider-Man: Homecoming” is on Starz; and “Ant-Man” is on Syfy.

Series: “Toy Story”

Length: 4 hours, 39 minutes

Bonus: “Toy Story 4” comes out this summer, so check out the trailer.

Series: “Rocky”

Length: 12 hours, 45 minutes

Bonus: The latest in the Rocky series “Creed II” is showing locally, so finish off your marathon with a trip to the theater.

Where to stream: “Rocky” through “Rocky V” are available through Roku Channel, Vudu and Crackle.

Series: Dark Knight trilogy

Length: 7 hours, 37 minutes

Bonus: If you want more of the caped crusaders, can check out other adaptations such as “Batman,” “Batman Returns,” “Batman Forever,” “Batman & Robin” or “The Lego Batman Movie,” as well as numerous other TV shows and animated films.

Series: Indiana Jones

Length: 8 hours, 2 minutes

Tips: Do yourself a favor and pretend the “Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” doesn’t exist.

Where to stream: All films are available on Amazon Prime, including “The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles.”

Series: “The Godfather”

Length: 8 hours, 57 minutes

Where to stream: All films are available on Netflix.

Series: “The Fast and the Furious”

Length: 15 hours, 57 minutes

Where to stream: “Furious 7” is on FXNow, and “The Fate of the Furious” is available on Max Go.

Christmas marathons

Series: “Home Alone”

Length: 7 hours, 10 minutes

Where to stream: “Home Alone” and “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York” can be found on Starz.

Series: “The Santa Clause”

Length: 4 hours, 53 minutes

Where to stream: “The Santa Clause” and “The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause” are available on Freeform.

Series: “Die Hard”

Length: 10 hours, 14 minutes

Where to stream: Find “Die Hard 2” at Max Go and “A Good Day to Die Hard” at FXNow.
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Families could do a lot worse this holiday season than to take out a home equity loan for a bucket of multiplex popcorn and take in “Mary Poppins Returns,” director Rob Marshall’s hectic sequel to the 1964 Disney musical cherished by millions.

Those who don’t want their memories of the original messed with unduly can take comfort in how the sequel’s storyline follows the narrative and musical beats of the original, right down to a radically square 2-D animation sequence. And it’s hard to imagine either slaves to the ’64 musical or newcomers of any age having a problem with Emily Blunt.

Her incarnation of the magical, gently fearsome nanny created by author P.L.Travers (who hated Disney’s version) suggests a hint of the paradoxical imperious sparkle Julie Andrews brought to Mary Poppins. Then Blunt adds streaks of witty, sly playfulness that are more her thing. And it all works.

The costumes do a lot for Blunt’s characterization. “Mary Poppins Returns” takes place 24 years after “Mary Poppins,” in 1934. The effects of the global economic downturn feed into screenwriter David Magee’s misery-adjacent storyline concerning the grown-up Banks children. Grieving widower Michael (Ben Whishaw, quite moving) is raising young John (Nathanael Saleh), Annabel (Pixie Davies) and Georgie (Joel Dawson), while the children’s aunt, Jane (Emily Mortimer), pays homage to her late mother’s interest in the suffrage movement with her own organized labor efforts.

The plot deals with a threatened foreclosure on the Banks’ family home at 17 Cherry Tree Lane, London, and greedy capitalist pigs personified by the steely two-faced banker played by Colin Firth. But then there’s Mary, who arrives via kite this time, and swans around in fabulously smart ’30s hats and delightful footwear. All hail costume designer Sandy Powell. Her work for all the characters here evokes ’34, the ’64 Disney film and fantasy realms that know no boundaries.

Lin-Manuel Miranda, that “Hamilton” chap, takes second billing as Jack the lamplighter, who we’re told was once apprentice to chimney sweep Bert. You’ll recall Dick Van Dyke in that role back in ’64. In “Mary Poppins Returns” Van Dyke, now 92, more or less reprises the cameo he played in the first Disney “Poppins” film. It’s a serious treat to see Van Dyke jump up on a table and soft-shoe a few bars, as the son of the ancient banker, Dawes.

The other major nostalgia bonus is Angela Lansbury, 93, who pops up in the final scene as the Balloon Lady. Songwriters Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman (“Hairspray,” one of the sturdiest Broadway scores of the century) reward her with the swell waltz “Nowhere to Go But Up,” which echoes the original’s “Let’s Go Fly a Kite” for a sunny, open-air finale.

Alas, that’s the only song from “Mary Poppins Returns” I can recall, several days after seeing it. That’s a significant drawback in a well-cast but rather strenuously jolly holiday of a sequel. The nine songs run the gamut from male-chorus spectaculars (“Trip a Little Light Fantastic”) to eccentric comic turns (“Turning Turtle,” an upside-down discombobulator sung by Meryl Streep as Mary’s Aunt Topsy) to a music hall song-and-dance duet for Blunt and Miranda (“The Cover is Not the Book,” more frantic than clever, though it’s fun to hear Miranda bust a few lines “Hamilton” style).

Director Marshall stages things with workmanlike efficiency. The movie piles on, the barrage of effects and diversions largely dictated by the demands of the animation interludes and the surfeit of routine digital effects. The 2-D vignette, in which Mary, Jack and the kids pop into a porcelain bowl illustration for a mad chase sequence, almost works, but it too sweats and strains for the magic.
Of his six features to date, four of Marshall’s films have been musicals: “Chicago” (2002), “Nine” (2009), “Into the Woods” (2014) and “Mary Poppins Returns.” He’s devoted to the form, though his two non-musicals, “Memoirs of a Geisha” (2005) and the eternity that was “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” (2011), point to a clunkiness never entirely absent in this uneven picture. The original “Mary Poppins” was exuberant, fueled by terrific Sherman brothers songs. “Mary Poppins Returns” is often just pushy.
So I’m mixed on it. You can enjoy various bits and pieces of “Mary Poppins Returns,” and a lot of the performers, even as you roll your eyes at, for example, the anachronistic BMX parkour stunt biker interlude. I’m no purist, but really. The first “Mary Poppins” managed perfectly well without consulting the latest fads and spicing up “Step in Time” with a bunch of hula hoops.

Films seeking Oscar recognition have until Dec. 31 to be released and remain eligible for consideration. Some wait until late in the year to stay fresh in the minds of Oscar voters.

Here are some that have been released or are releasing soon that could vie for Oscar attention:

“A Star is Born”

Synopsis: An established singer helps an upcoming talent find her voice.

Oscar contention: It’s expected to get some acting nods following rave reviews for performances by Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga in the film directed by Cooper.

“First Man”

Synopsis: A biopic of Neil Armstrong and the journey that led him to the moon.

Oscar contention: Director Damien Chazelle has been to the Oscars before with “La La Land” and “Whiplash.” Stellar performances by Ryan Gosling and Claire Foy will certainly help the film’s Oscar chances.

“Boy Erased”

Synopsis: The son of a baptist preacher is forced into a gay conversion program.

Oscar contention: It’s received some early nominations from other award circuits. The main actor, Lucas Hedges, has appeared in three Oscar-nominated films in the past two years, including earning an acting nomination in 2016 for “Manchester By the Sea.”

“Green Book”

Synopsis: A working-class bouncer becomes the driver for an African-American classical pianist during his tour of the South in the 1960s.

Oscar contention: It already won the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto Film Festival. Viggo Mortensen, who plays the driver, has been nominated twice, while Mahershala Ali, as the pianist, has had it good the last few years with an Oscar win and an Emmy nomination, among other awards.

“The Favourite”

Synopsis: There’s tension in the English court when Queen Anne gets a new servant that threatens the relationship she had with another.

Oscar contention: With a powerhouse of actresses like Olivia Coleman, Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone, this one will likely get some acting nominations. The film won the Special Grand Jury prize at the Venice Film Festival.

“If Beale Street Could Talk”

Synopsis: A Harlem woman tries to prove her fiance’s innocence while pregnant with his child.

Oscar contention: Following his Best Picture win for “Moonlight,” director Barry Jenkins could see gold again.

“Ben is Back”

Synopsis: When her son returns, his mother is eager to welcome him back, but his past might not have left him behind.

Oscar contention: Lucas Hedges acting in another possible Oscar condender, plus Julia Roberts as his mother. The film had a successful showing at the Toronto Film Festival.

“Roma”

Synopsis: A story that follows a middle-class family in Mexico City during the 1970s.

Oscar contention: Director Alfonso Cuaron has an Oscar in his trophy case and several nominations. The film won at Venice and was nominated in Toronto.

“Vice”

Synopsis: A film on Dick Cheney’s rise to becoming Vice President under President George W. Bush.

Oscar contention: With Christian Bale as Cheney (complete with a full makeover to look the part), plus Sam Rockwell, as Bush, (coming off last year’s Best Supporting Actor Oscar win), the film likely will receive some votes.

“Beautiful Boy”

Synopsis: A father-son relationship dealing with a son’s drug addiction.

Oscar contention: Steve Carell plays the dad, and Timothée Chalamet (nominated last year for the Best Actor Oscar) plays the son. They’ll be strong considerations for some acting awards. The film has done well at numerous festivals and early awards shows.
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https://inland360.com/more-news/2018/12/sample-some-2019-oscar-bait-films-likely-to-be-strong-contenders-in-februarys-awards-showcase/feed/0New on Netflix and Amazon Prime and other services week of Dec. 14https://inland360.com/top-headlines/2018/12/new-on-netflix-and-amazon-prime-and-other-services-week-of-dec-14/
https://inland360.com/top-headlines/2018/12/new-on-netflix-and-amazon-prime-and-other-services-week-of-dec-14/#respondFri, 14 Dec 2018 01:30:03 +0000https://inland360.com/?p=1070757Top streams for the week

Alfonso Cuarón’s semi-autobiographical “ROMA” (Mexico, 2018, not rated, with subtitles), about growing up in Mexico City in the early 1970s, has won awards from film festivals and critics groups and is an early Oscar favorite. It arrives on Netflix while playing in select theaters around the country.

Keira Knightley is “Colette” (2018, R) in the biographical drama about the early years of the great French author from award-winning director Wash Westmoreland. On Cable On Demand and VOD, also on DVD and at Redbox.

Classic pick: “The Great Escape” (1963) is the exemplar of the World War II adventure, with Steve McQueen leading a massive cast of individualists working on the ultimate heist: escaping an inescapable German POW camp. It’s a lot of fun but still grounded in a serious reality, and director John Sturges reminds us that there are consequences to these actions. Streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

Free streams: Every episode of Joss Whedon’s “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Angel,” andFirefly” is now streaming for free on Facebook Watch and HBO is streaming “Icebox” (2018, TV-14) for free for nonsubscribers through January 10, 2019.

Pay-Per-View / Video on Demand

The animated comedy “Smallfoot” (2018, PG) follows the adventure of a Yeti in a remote Himalayan mountain discovering that the legend is true: humans do exist! Also new:

action drama “The Equalizer 2” (2018, R) with Denzel Washington back to get justice for the oppressed;

True stories: the six-part documentary series “The Innocent Man,” based on the true crime best-seller by John Grisham, looks at the case of Ron Williamson, who was sentenced to death for a crime he didn’t commit. Also new:

“Out of Many, One,” a short documentary featuring the stories of immigrants preparing for American citizenship;

Foreign language TV: “The Protector: Season 1” (Turkey, with subtitles), a fantasy about a young shopkeeper in modern Istanbul who discovers he is part of an ancient order of mystical protectors, is the first Netflix Original series from Turkey. Also new:

A teenage girl (Zoey Deutch) relives the same day over and over again in “Before I Fall” (2017, PG-13), a young adult drama twist on “Groundhog Day” and Nicholas Hoult and Felicity Jones are Americans on the run from German criminals in the action thriller “Collide” (2017, PG-13).

Streaming TV: s the complete run of mall town sitcom “Corner Gas,” the most popular Canadian comedy of all time, is now available, including the reunion feature “Corner Gas: The Movie” (2014, PG)

Foreign affairs: “Paris, je t’aime” (2007, R, with subtitles) celebrates the City of Lights in eighteen short vignettes set in different districts of Paris and three filmmakers set more substantial short films in “Tokyo!” (2008, not rated, with subtitles). Also new:

“Gabbeh” (Iran, 1996, not rated, with subtitles) from Mohsen Makhmalbaf;

two non-narrative films from Jean-Luc Godard and his radical Dziga Vertov Group: “British Sounds” (aka “See You at Mao”) and “Le Vent D’Est” (“Wind from the East”) (both France, 1970, not rated, with subtitles).

Classics: Faye Dunaway and Max von Sydow headline the all-star cast of “Voyage of the Damned” (1976, PG), based on the true story of Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany that no nation would take in. Also new:

Cult: Teruo Ishii’s “Horrors of Malformed Men” (Japan, 1969, with subtitles), based on stories by Edogawa Rampo, is one of the weirdest films to come out of the Japanese horror genre. And that’s saying something. Also new: juvenile crime dramas “The Boy Who Came Back” (Japan, 1958, with subtitles) and “Teenage Yakuza” (Japan, 1962, with subtitles) and underworld thriller “Smashing the 0-line” (Japan, 1960, with subtitles) from director Seijun Suzuki.

Prime Video and Hulu

Indie drama “Say You Will” (2017, TV-14) follows a recent high school grad (Travis Hope) as he cares for his mother and navigates his first relationship in the wake of his father’s suicide (Prime Video and Hulu).

Hulu

Taraji P. Henson stars in Tyler Perry’s “I Can Do Bad All By Myself” (2009, PG-13) as a reckless nightclub singer suddenly responsible for three troubled teenage kids.

A teenager (Max Record) fights his own homicidal impulses while investigating a string of murders in “I Am Not a Serial Killer” (2016, not rated).

“Deutschland 86” (Germany, with subtitles), the second season of the series begun as “Deutschland 83,” jumps ahead three years in the drama set in East Germany before the fall of the Berlin Wall.

More streaming TV: “Zac & Mia: Season 1” stars Kian Lawley and Anne Winters as the only teenagers in the cancer ward of a hospital. Also new: